Gigs: The New App Revolutionizing Concert Memories and Music Journeys
In the age of smartphones, capturing a concert experience has become second nature—millions of fans around the world hold up their devices to record snippets of their favorite performances. Yet, these videos and photos often languish in forgotten folders, rarely revisited. Enter Gigs, a groundbreaking concert-tracking app launching this week that aims to transform the way live music enthusiasts preserve and relive their most memorable moments. Leveraging Apple’s advanced on-device AI technology, Gigs promises to create a seamless, personalized archive of concert history, complete with tickets, photos, videos, and even insights into attendees’ music journeys.
Developed by indie app creator Hidde van der Ploeg, known for his work on AI-driven music apps like Petey and NowPlaying, Gigs arrives as a thoughtful solution for passionate concert-goers seeking a better way to organize and cherish their live music experiences. The app not only simplifies logging past events but also enhances planning for future ones, making it a comprehensive tool for anyone who loves music.
How Gigs Works
At its core, Gigs is designed to streamline the process of documenting concert history. Users can add events to their personal archive in multiple ways: by importing tickets, email confirmations, screenshots, or even web links. Utilizing Apple’s Foundation Models, the app automatically extracts key details such as dates, venues, and lineups to populate each listing. For those who already track their concert history on platforms like Setlist.fm or Concert Archives, Gigs offers seamless account linking to import years of attendance data.
Once concerts are added, the app syncs event dates to users’ personal calendars, sends ticket sale reminders, and provides access to expected set lists and artist information. Post-event, Gigs prompts users to rate the show and upload photos, videos, and other memorabilia—creating a rich, multimedia archive of their experience.
Features That Go Beyond Tracking
Gigs doesn’t stop at mere documentation. Its intuitive dashboard offers users a deeper understanding of their concert history through insightful analytics. Metrics include most-seen artists, favorite venues, most-visited cities, busiest years, and average ratings. These stats not only provide a nostalgic trip down memory lane but also help users discover patterns in their live music preferences.
The app also introduces milestones to celebrate users’ concert-going journeys, such as attending their first 10 shows or surpassing 1,000 performances. These achievements add a playful, gamified element to the experience, encouraging users to reflect on their musical adventures.
Designed With Apple Ecosystem in Mind
True to van der Ploeg’s reputation for crafting apps that integrate seamlessly with Apple’s ecosystem, Gigs is optimized for iOS 26, featuring a sleek Liquid Glass design. Users can customize their experience with personalized icons and Home Screen widgets that count down to upcoming events. Siri integration allows for hands-free access to upcoming shows, tickets, and event ratings, while Apple’s Spotlight indexing ensures concert data is searchable system-wide.
Monetization and Accessibility
Gigs is free to download, with premium features unlocked through in-app purchases. For $2.99 per month or $19.99 annually, users gain access to advanced capabilities such as data export, achievements, deeper insights, and unlimited storage for photos and videos. Concert history can also be imported from other services or through CSV files. For those who use van der Ploeg’s NowPlaying app, bundling options offer additional discounts, making Gigs an attractive proposition for avid music fans.
The Vision Behind Gigs
Van der Ploeg’s motivation for developing Gigs stems from his own love of live music and the realization that many fans lack a centralized platform to document their experiences. “Gigs is for people who want to remember not just the concerts they’ve been to, but the stories behind them,” he explains. “It’s about preserving those moments in a way that’s meaningful and accessible.”
The app’s launch comes at a time when live music is experiencing a global resurgence, with fans eager to reconnect with the collective energy of in-person performances. Gigs taps into this cultural zeitgeist by offering a tool that not only enhances the concert experience but also creates a lasting legacy of music memories.
A Balanced Look at Gigs’ Potential
While Gigs has garnered excitement among early adopters, its success will depend on its ability to differentiate itself from existing concert-tracking platforms and appeal to a broad audience. Its integration with Apple’s ecosystem is a strong selling point, but its reliance on iOS may limit its accessibility to Android users.
For now, Gigs stands as a promising innovation in the intersection of music, technology, and personal memory. Whether it becomes a staple in the lives of concert-goers remains to be seen, but its launch marks a significant step forward in how we document and relive our musical journeys.
As live music continues to evolve, so too does the way we engage with it—and Gigs is poised to be at the forefront of that transformation.
